Originally printed March 16, 2020.
One of the advantages of hiking during the winter is that it is an ideal time to knock off Connecting Route miles – road miles – when it is not so beastly hot. With that in mind, I set out last Friday to hike a 7 mile portion of a 41.4 mile CR between the western terminus of the Lake Eleven Segment and the eastern terminus of the Chippewa River Segment. Usually, I try to divide such distances into roughly equal, bite-sized chunks – four hikes of about 10 miles each would be an ideal answer to this challenge. But, there aren’t logical breaks for this section that work out that way. It appears I’ll be breaking this CR into 7-7.6-14.9-10.7, or something along those lines.
This particular hike was taking me from the western terminus of the Lake Eleven Segment to Diane’s Back 40 Bar west of the village of Lublin in Taylor County. I would be on Taylor County Highway F the entire way ( and for a good portion of the way on Saturday’s hike, too.). Basically, this would be a matter of following the highway signs. Easy-peasey. I met Buzz just after 8:00, and he made the short trip to the drop off point. After saying goodbye, I geared up and got started at 8:28. The temps were in the low 20s, and a stiff northerly breeze gave me a push as I made my way south on County F.
After several walks through fairly rolling country, I was struck by the sheer flatness of the farm country through which I hiked. I felt as if I was transported to Iowa. I was definitely in ‘big sky” country.
I mentioned that tail wind. That wind was to my benefit as long as I was headed south. But, I was in for a surprise as soon as I turned west. That crosswind blew to such a degree that I had to lean into it in order to maintain my balance. I greatly appreciated wind breaks, like the one in the picture above, for giving me some relief.
About an hour and a half after starting, I entered the village of Lublin (population 118 as of 2010). My first impression of the town was: tired, run down, taverns, three churches, patriotism and a junk yard in the heart of the village. But, the more I thought about it, the more curious I became. As I entered the village, I was struck by the onion dome of Holy Assumption Orthodox Church. An Orthodox Church here? How did that happen? The following is from their web site:
“Holy Assumption Orthodox Church in Lublin, WI has a lengthy and rich history in American Orthodoxy. Holy Assumption was founded in 1908 and is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in continuous use in Wisconsin. The first members, Carpatho-Russian-Galicians immigrated from an area once under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. They had the Orthodox faith but were administratively under Eastern Rite Catholic Church (Byzantine Catholic). Once they were settled in and around Lublin they built a church where they might worship, baptize, and educate their children in the Orthodox faith.”
As I was to learn during my short walk through Lublin (pronounced LOO-BLIN), the village and its surrounding area support three churches that were Catholic in one form or the other – Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church, and St. Mary’s Polish Catholic Church. In a village of 118 people. By the way, each church also had its own cemetery.
After I finished my hike and returned to Medford, I called the village library, introduced myself to the nice lady who answered the phone, and asked her to fill in the blanks. The M60 tank on display was presented to the local American Legion Post. The village also supports a Lady’s auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion. The village maintains a relationship with its older brother in Poland, and clergy from there have made the pilgrimage to Wisconsin. Railroad tracks belonging to the CNR run through the village; long ago, passenger trains would stop there. Although the village has a tired quality to it, it does support a nice Village Park, baseball park and volleyball courts right in the heart of town. Each summer the village has a festival, complete with a parade and upwards of 4,000 revelers in a village of 118!
After two and a half miles of hiking, I pulled into lot at Diane’s, stowed my gear and walked into the bar. My timing was perfect. It was 11:00, and the Back 40 had just opened. I settled down to enjoy a perch fish fry. Loved the hash browns.
(That night, I drove to the local Catholic church in Medford for their fish fry. I took one look at the crowd and opted for take out. Turns out I was ahead of the curve.)
My Days on the Ice Age Trail 